Radiation - what level?

With the unfolding of the nuclear disaster in Japan, which followed the
earthquake and tsunami that overwhelmed GE's engineering, there has been a lot
of near panic - except by the Japanese people. So for those of you who are
"concerned" and especially for those who are "really, really concerned" and who
do not trust the MSM (mainstream media for those who are a little behind the
curve...), here is the straight skinny from MY radiation monitoring equipment.

First, a note on preparedness. I was in Boy Scouts of America Red Sea
Troop 1, based out of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia back in the latter half of the
sixties. That's where I adopted the BSA motto, "Be prepared." I also
believe it is the duty of an American citizen to be involved in self-government,
otherwise it is a government of people who may not be quite as concerned about
someone else's rights as we might require them to be - in order to be free.
So, that's why I have radiation monitoring equipment, a ham radio and various
other tools anyone intending to be self-sufficient might have.

No alarm from my
NukAlert. However, I am getting a very slight reading in the upper sensitivity
range of my CDV-717. On the X0.1 setting I'm seeing a .1 rise in the level of
radiation which is so low that it's really hard to tell if it isn't a by-product
of the circuitry of the instrument. On the news last night I heard that
radiation detection equipment was set up (they didn't say where, but it was the
local news on KDVR, a Fox station...) and that it was registering a very small
amount of radiation. So, my detector may be showing that very small increase,
which confirms that between the radiation detector reported on the news and my
meter, we are getting a very small dose - and may also confirm that my equipment
is working properly and that I know how to use it.

Using the scale on
the back of the NukAlert, you can see that at 0.1 R/hr (Roentgens per hour), it
would take 41.6 days to get an accumulated dose of 100 Roentgens, well within
the ability of the body to repair itself and stave off mutagenic effects of
ionizing radiation. My reading, if accurate, shows that the hourly dosage may
be at .01, meaning that it would take 416 days to get a total cumulative dose of
100 R (Roentgens). Logically, at that level it explains why the NukAlert is NOT
sounding off with alarm chirps. The level is too low to detect by the NukAlert
and is only showing on the more sensitive CDV-717 at its most sensitive
setting.

Again, this is
nothing to worry about. That much radiation might be due to our altitude and
relatively thin atmosphere that blocks less solar and cosmic radiation than the
thicker layer of air over lower elevations, or it may be an artifact of the
circuitry of the monitor because at that low level, it is difficult to tell.

I will take another
reading around noon, unless my NukAlert spikes before then.